A 6:00am encounter with a Jesus freak and then some.

[Cyrano]

It was really weird. I had to leave the house at six this morning. It was still dark, and while loading stuff in my trunk, a guy walked by and started proselytizing. He was 50ish, clean shaven and dressed in chinos, a sport shirt and a baseball cap with no logo.

No matter what your neighborhood, it’s unusual to get into a 6:00 am conversation. I didn’t smell any alcohol on his breath and he was speaking in a normal tone. The only thing abnormal about him was what he was saying.

After a cursory “good morning” and my cursory reply, he launched off into a monologue of how what was going on in Iraq specifically, and in the middle-East in general, was a “sign of the end-times.”

The “sign of the end-times” comment was about all I needed to recognize a certified Jesus freak and I started moving faster in an attempt to make my escape from this unwelcome twilight encounter. But he then started to sprinkle in stuff about how too many in this country are trying to “stab us in the back” while we are “trying to prevent the spread of evil.” Now this was a departure from the typical “end days” pitch. Telling him I was late, I tried to recall if there might be a straight jacket someplace in my trunk.

As I was opening my car door (while keeping a cautious eye on him) he switched to how President Bush was there to bring about the “end times” and “save the United States of America in the name of God.” Realizing I’d started my car, he told me to “have a nice day” and strolled on down the street.

The bottom line was that I wondered whether or not I should call the police on my cell. But he’d been pleasant, had said or done nothing threatening, and at worse, might have been a fugitive from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” If I’d called the police, what would I have said? “There’s a guy in the area spouting weird ideas?” It also occurred to me that, if I called them, they might have ended up shooting or tasering him just because he was a little strange. (A sad comment on how many of us liberals don’t trust the police in situations requiring tact rather than force.)

So my question is, what would you have done?

[niyad]

1. told him I hadn't had enough caffeine to listen to BS, and please go away

[MissB]

2. I would've bid him good day

and moved on with mine.

[guitar man]

3. I would have asked him

"Hey, when the rapture comes, can I have your house? How about your car, what kind of car do you drive??"

gets 'em every time :rofl:

[cynatnite]

4. At 6AM!

I think the guy was certifiable. You probably handled as best you could, but if he shows up again I'd let him knowt that the cops will be called. It's downright creepy, IMO.

[mtnester]

6. I agree - it is like he was waiting

6:00 AM, still dark, outside? Think about it...on the quick forat thought, does it SOUND normal?

No matter what BS he wanted to deliver, no normal human being would accost someone outside in the dark at that time of the day on a random whim.

[AlCzervik]

5. i must live in the most boring place ever because these things never happen to me.

[Cyrano]

8. I've gotta' agree. Something like this never happened to me before either.

I guess the moral is, weirdness appears when you least expect it.

[angrycarpenter]

7. Bush is trying to bring about the end

but I doubt god has anything to do with it. If bush has a place in biblical prophecy it is not on the side of good. Maybe a false prophet to lead the faithful astray.

[daninthemoon]

18. Bush is the Queen of Babylon. She sits atop the beast.

[Cyrano]

19. Sorry, I don't know where you're quote is from. I noticed in your profile that

travel is one of your interests. Did you happen to be in Palm Beach County at six this morning?

(Sorry, couldn't resist the opening you left on that one.)

[daninthemoon]

20. Yes, that was I. I am he as you are me. Accept the message of

the walrus and the eggmen.

on edit: just an aside: the quote is basically from Revelations. not for nothin, but Babaylon and the Queen of Babylon are the bad guys. SInce bushler is basically in command of Iraq (geographically Babylon), it seems a "logical" step to me to identify him as the evil queen herself.

[porphyrian]

9. Fund mental health care. - n/t

[Fridays Child]

10. My first reaction to any stranger attempting to engage me, under those circumstances...

...would be to tell him/her to get the hell away from me before I pepper spray him/her. But that's mild compared to how I greet the religious crackpots who ring my doorbell.

[Cyrano]

12. He was pleasant, and like most people, I was trying to be polite.

Had I gotten belligerent, the situation might have elevated into something other than what it was. I don't need that kind of problem and neither does any normal person who's not looking for an excuse to beat on someone.

I believe the man might have had mental problems, but calling the police might have led to what I mentioned in the OP.

And if you want to talk about mental problems, let's start with Bush/Cheney.

[Fridays Child]

14. Sometimes, "polite" isn't a good option for women alone.

In the environment you described, I would have aggressively demanded that he get the hell away from me. Like many women, I've good reason to respond thusly.

[Cyrano]

16. I can't argue with you on that. You are absolutely correct.

[KansDem]

11. Reminds me of a story...

Back in the 1960s, my cousin married a man who sported long hair and a beard. In fact, he looked alot like "J.C." himself.

Well anyway, one day some Jesus-freaks come up to their door and knock. My cousin answers and they start to rattle off their "Do you know Jesus?" shtick. They barely get their question asked when my cousin's husband comes around from behind the front door (he was walking through the house) and without missing a beat says to them, "I am Jesus Christ!" The two ladies, with mouth agape, back down the walkway to the street and make a hasty retreat!

This story became a family favorite!

[Stuckinthebush]

13. You could have turned around, and with a furrowed brow said,

"Jesus H. Christ in a Starbucks, dude! It is 6 am! Don't go around talking crazy shit at 6 am. It's just not right. Now go home and call your psychiatrist. Later!"

[mmonk]

15. Laugh

To answer your question.

[valerief]

17. I would have run into the car as soon as he appeared. I don't like confronting

strangers in the dark.

[KG]

21. pulled an uzi out from under my robe and shot him.

:hi: